Car coupler positioning device



\ July 6,

E. R. swANsoN 'CAR COUPLER POSITIONING DEVICE Filed Feb. s, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 1 y ,1937. E. R- SWANSON 2 086,246

' CAR COUPLER POS ITIONING DEVICE v I Filed Feb. 3,1956 3 Sheefs-Sheet 2 fnbenfor:

July 6, 1937. E. R. SWANSON CAR COUPLER POSITIONING DEVICE Filed Feb. 3, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 fnuenzor:

Patented July 6, 1937 I hdtitt r El Earl it. Swanson, Qhicagc, Ell, assignor to Chicago-Hutchins Gorporation, ilhicago, Ill, a corporation of Delaware Application February 3, 1936, Serial No. 62,111

1 Mains.

This device relates to means for automatically positioning the coupler of a railway car by gravity.

Two railway cars are automatically coupled together by the movement of their respective couplers forcing the tails of the pivoted knuckles behind gravity locks. The couplers are mounted in the cars so as to permit a limited amount of lateral movement. Such limitation is necessary is and essential because if the couplers were allowed to move too far to either side, the couplers of the two cars being coupled would pass each other and not couple, thereby, defeating the object of the automatic coupler. The greater the lateral movement of a coupler the less side pressure on the striking casting when the cars are going around curves. This lateral pressure forces the wheel flanges against the rail causing considerable friction and wearing of the rails and Wheels.

Coupler positioning or coupler centering devices, as they are called, frequently comprise a part rigidly attached to the end. sill, draft sill or other portion of the car which support rollers, rockers or other anti-friction and centering means which in turn support a coupler carrying carriage. Some means is provided to retain the coupler in the middle of the carriage.

Open top railway cars are frequently unloaded in a dumping machine wherein the entire car and load are turned almost upside down so that the load slides over one side of the car into a chute and thence into a barge or other vessel. The object of the invention is to provide means to retain the rollers or rockers in the proper relative position to the car part and carriage, respectively, under all service conditions. Such rollers or rockers may get out of operative position when the car is turned over in a dumping machine; when the car goes around a curve or when two cars are jarred in coupling.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a form of my invention wherein each of the centering rollers is held in operative relation to the upper and lower races by connecters pivotally attached to the carriage.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the carriage and rollers of Fig. 1 with their connecters in assembled relation, while Fig.4 shows the relation of these elements when the carriage is moved laterally.

Fig. 5 shows a modified structure wherein the rollers are connected by a link for simultaneous 55 operation and the link is pivotally attached to Fig. 5 with the connecter in assembled relation,

while Fi 8 shows the relation of these elements, when the carriage is moved laterally.

Fig. 9 shows a modification wherein a rocker is shown instead of a roller and the connecter is V pivotally attached to the car part instead of the carriage.

Fig. 16 shows the carriage of Fig. 9 moved laterally.

Fig. 11 shows a modification wherein a rocker is used with straight parallel rocker engaging surfaces on the carriage and car part, respectively, and wherein the connecter is pivotally attached to the rocker.

Fig. 12 shows the carriage of Fig. 11 moved laterally. v

The several drawings show that my invention is applicable to car coupler-positioning or centering devices using one or several rollers or rockers cooperating with curved or straight races on the car part and coupler carriage, respectively, and

that the connecter for maintaining the operative relation between the roller (or rocker) and the associated parts may be pivotally supported by the car part, carriage or roller (-or rocker).

Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, show a construction wherein the car part 2 is rigidly attached to the car and is provided with a pair of downwardly curved bearing surfaces or races 3. The coupler carriage 5 is provided with a pair of upwardly curved bearing surfaces or races 5. Rollers l support the carriage 4 upon the car part 2 and are adapted to roll between the curved bearing surfaces 35 upon movement of the carriage sidewise of the car, as shown in Fig. i, so that gravity 1 tends to return the carriage to a predetermined position preferably adjacent the longitudinal center-of the The oonnecters 9-9 are pivotally attached to the carriage by the pins l0. Each connecter 9-9 has a pivotal and slidable connection to the respective rollers 'l'l and a pivotal and slidable connection to a member 2 or other portion of the car part. The connecter Q in the form shown is provided with a slot H which straddles the pins it on the roller l and the E3 on the member 2 (on the car part 2) The carriage i is preferably provided with lugs it to retain the coupler B5 in the middle of the carriage and so that the carriage moves laterally with the coupler.

In detail the car part 2 or striking casting, in

this case, has spaced apart walls 20-2i, each provided with a race or tread 3, each supporting a roller '5 which is provided with a shoulder 22 to keep the roller in place. Ihe two rollers i'l are connected by a shank 2a which is straddled by the slot H in the connecter 9 to provide the pivotal and slidable connection therebetween.

The connectors are pivoted to the carriage by means of the pipe ferrules or pins E8. The rivets E3 in the lower part of the strilnng casting provide the pivotal and slidable connections between the car part and the connecters. Rivets are used for pins 53 and also for pins id. The permissible movement of the pivot pins. iii in the slots H of the connecter 9 (in any of the arrangements) is greater than the distance (28) between the top of the coupler iE'and the underside 29 of the striking casting so that when the car is tipped in an unloading machine the connecter cannot become disengaged from the pivot pin. When the coupler is removed the carriage t can be removed laterally of the car through the apertures 38 in the car part 2 without removing the rivet pins i3.

Figs. to 8 inclusive show a construction similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 21, 3 and 4 wherein the rollers are connected by 'a link il for simultaneous operation. The connecter 32 is pivoted to the carriage 23 by the pin id. The con necter is provided with a slot 65 which straddles pins 48 and i? on the link til and car part 38, re-

spectively, so as to provide pivotal and slidable connections between the link and car part, respectively. 7

Figs. 9 and 10 show a single rocker Gil engaging curved surface 6! on the carriage 62 and 'a straight surface 63 on the car part 64. In this arrangement the connecter 65 is pivoted to the car part 6 5 and pivotally and slidably connected to the rocker 59 and carriage 52 respectively.

Figs. 11 and 12 show a single rocker 'lil engaging straight surfaces Til-d2 on the carriage l t and car part '55, respectively. Inthis arrangement the connecter '56 is pivoted to the axis ll of the rocker l6 and pivotally and slidably connected to the carriage '54 and car part 75, respectively.

The objects of the invention may be obtained by pivotally attaching the connector (or con necters) to the roller (or rocker) to the carriage and to the car part with at least two of these three attachments being slidable pivotal. k The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claim, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: V V

A railway car coupler positioning device comprising a car part having a downwardly curved bearing, a coupler carriage having an upwardly curved bearing, a roller positioned between said part and carriage and adapted to roll between said bearings upon sidewise movement of the carriage and raise said carriage so that gravity tends to return the carriage to a predetermined position, a member on said car part, a connecter pivotally attached to said carriage and having a pivotal and slidable connection with said member,

as well as 5 said connecter having a pivotal and slidable con- 3 nection with the axis of said roller. v 7 g v EARL R. SWANSON. 

